Science-based products and services company DuPont said on Thursday it will invest Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) to set up its first Knowledge Centre in India.
"We have five R&D centres worldwide, including at US, Germany and China, but this centre to be set up at Hyderabad will be the company's first Knowledge Centre," DuPont President and CEO Balvinder Singh Kalsi told reporters in New Delhi.
"A total of initial Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) will be invested on infrastructure and another Rs 100 crore on equipment and manpower in the Knowledge Centre," DuPont R&D Director Homi Bhedwar said.
The centre would come up on an area of 15 acres of land on the ICICI Knowledge Park at Hyderabad.
"The land has been taken on lease for 51 years from ICICI Knowledge Park, which is a joint venture between ICICI Bank and Andhra Pradesh government,"
The centre, whose groundbreaking ceremony is slated for March, would start operations by the second quarter of 2008.
Detailing on how the Knowledge Centre is unique from its other five R&D centres all over the world, Homi said apart from basic research, the centre would have applications development to cater to the global markets, including India, aiming at increasing productivity of the its products.
Out of products in various categories, including coating and colour technology and electronic and communication, agriculture and nutrition get maximum revenue to the company in India at 30 per cent, he said.
On choosing India for its first Knowledge Centre, which would cater to applications development along with basic research, Kalsi said, "India is a strategic market with intellectual capital and human resource available in plenty."
